Football singularity-Chapter 734: Chater Exam
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[2021-04-18 | BayArena Complex, Leverkusen | 08:15 CET]
The Sunday morning air was crisp and still as Rakim’s i8 pulled into the nearly empty parking lot of the BayArena complex. Most of the squad had the day off following their match against Köln last night. They would be going through recovery, rest, and spending time with family, but Rakim had a different kind of appointment.
May brought the car to a stop, killing the engine, before pulling a thermos of lavender tea from her bag in the back seat. "Nervous?"
"About an AP Accounting exam?" Rakim said, with a light smile accepying the thermos. "Not really, Nah. Numbers are surprisingly easy when you think of them as your own money."
"You say that, but your left foot has been jittering since we left," May countered. "Good thing I didn’t let you drive, otherwise you would have crashed just to not take the exam?"
"Don’t start," he muttered, taking a sip of the tea, the strong fragrance with no sugar, exactly how he liked it.
She laughed, reaching over to straighten his collar. He wore a simple black quarter-zip and beige pants—his hair was freshly shaped, the high-top fade and curls sitting perfectly. "You look good. Very... scholarly," she said adjusting the round glasses at teh bridge of his nose that were just there for style.
"I’m taking a high school exam during COVID," Rakim said dryly. "I don’t think there are style points."
"Still," May said softly, her green eyes warm. "I’m proud of you. Most people in your position would’ve dropped out the moment they signed a professional contract."
"Mom would kill me if I did that." Rakim shrugged. "Plus, I promised her that I’d graduate. At least with a diploma, you won’t be ashamed supporting poor old me after a career-ending injury."
"Yeah, Lisa would break your legs herself, and Ben and Emma would probably help hold you down," May said, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "I’d take care of you even if quite right now, but knowing you, I wouldn’t be surprised if you played longer than Ronaldo."
"Aww, really?" Rakim asked, bringing a hand to his heart. "Yeah, although being a kept man sounds nice, I wouldn’t survive the death threats from your stream stalkers."
She simply laughed at his look of horror at the thought. "Go ace it. I’ll be at the café across the street. Text me when you’re done."
"Two hours," Rakim confirmed, grabbing his backpack from the rear seat. "Maybe less if the questions are easy."
"Good luck, babe," May called as he climbed out. He gave her a small two-finger salute, then headed toward the main entrance of the training facility.
~~~
[BayArena Complex | Conference Room 3B | 09:55 CET]
The conference room was spacious and professionally decorated, with a long functional table, grey walls, fluorescent lighting, and a whiteboard at one end. A woman in her early fifties sat at the far end of the table, arranging papers with meticulous precision. She wore a navy blazer over a white blouse, her grey-streaked hair pulled into a tight bun. Glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, and she looked up as Rakim entered.
"Rakim Rex?" She asked, her tone clipped as she looked up from her documents, but not unkind. "You’re the last to arrive. Please sign in and find your seat."
"Sorry, ma’am," Rakim replied, closing the door behind him, only now spotting the figure of Sammed Onur, Wirtz, Gedikli, Johnen, and Türkmen in the room, all seated in their respective seats.
"Frau Kemper," she said, standing to shake his hand. "You’re good five minutes early, in fact. I’m the senior examiner from Lise-Meitner-Gymnasium. I’ll be invigilating your final examination today."
"Thanks for taking care of us on a Sunday," Rakim said, signing his name on the sign-in sheet, adding his student number, as required. "Morning, lads, you all ready to fail this together?"
"Nah, bro, you’re on your own. We have türkish mothers." Samed Onur retorted with a slight grimace just at the thought.
"What are you even on? This isn’t some Three Musketeers all for one, one for all BS." Cem added, more confused than anything, but Frau Kemper could tell his shoulders looked much more relaxed. "Maybe Wirtz will follow you on that path?"
"Just sit down, don’t bro." Wirtz retorted, feeling his friends’ gaze on him. "You’re way off with this one. Plus, ain’t you a math wiz? You’re more likely to get full marks than fail."
"Yeah, I’m kind of awesome," He shrugged, taking a seat and putting his bag next to his chair. "Learned a thing or two from my money guy. BTW, you got one yet?"
"Don’t start with that again.."
"Alright, gentlemen, I see that you have somewhat relaxed, but let’s settle down, you still have an exam to sit." Frau Kemper said from the front of the room, giving them a tight smile. "The school board was quite accommodating, given your... unique circumstances. It’s not every day we have student footballers in a Champions League semi-finals squad while completing their Abitur."
"Congratulations on your hard work to achieve your aspirations," she said, sounding genuinely conglaturary though her tone suggested she had no particular interest in football. "Now, let’s get started. I’ll trust you didn’t bring any electronics into the room and that you won’t engage in any forms of cheating. It would reflect badly on your future if any of you were to be failed for cheating, so let’s avoid that."
Rakim pulled out his pen bag and calculator, neatly placing them on his desk before pulling out a bottle of water and setting it beside his chair.
Frau Kemper briefly inspected each person’s desk, asked Wirtz to remove the label from his mineral water, then nodded. "I assume you’ve read the examination guidelines?"
"Yes, ma’am," they responded, their latent school memories kicking in naturally. She wasn’t the authoritative type who shouted to assert dominance, but she had a charisma that made them pay attention lest they get on her bad side.
"Good." She opened a sealed envelope, pulled out the question papers, and checked them one last time. "You have two hours to complete the Accounting examination. Section A is multiple choice, Section B is short answer, and Section C is essay-based. You may not leave the room until the examination is complete, except for restroom breaks, which one of the waiting assistants will escort you to."
Frau Kemper placed the exam papers face down in front of each student, then returned to her desk at the front of the room. She checked her watch, then looked up at the six young men scattered across the conference room.
"You may begin... now." She said right at ten o’clock, pressing her stopwatch as the sound of six exam papers flipping over simultaneously filled the room. Rakim scanned the first page, his eyes moving quickly across the multiple-choice section.
**SECTION A: Multiple Choice (30 marks)**
*Question 1: Which of the following is NOT a current asset?*
*(a) Cash*
*(b) Accounts Receivable*
*(c) Inventory*
*(d) Land*
Rakim circled (d) without hesitation, then moved his pen to the next question.
*Question 2: The accounting equation is:*
*(a) Assets = Liabilities + Owner’s Equity*
*(b) Assets = Liabilities - Owner’s Equity*
*(c) Assets + Liabilities = Owner’s Equity*
*(d) Assets - Owner’s Equity = Liabilities*
He didn’t struggle much with the multiple-choice questions, his mind easily connecting the dots with what he had learned. Across the room, Wirtz shifted in his seat, his injured ankle carefully strapped to a boot. He was writing steadily, his brow furrowed in concentration. Samed Onur looked relaxed, almost bored, working through the questions at a measured pace. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
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TO BE CONTINUED...
